A RAIL passenger this week spoke of his disgust at seeing piles of human waste and toilet paper strewn on the track at Ilkley Station.

Hubert Johnson, 72, said he was shocked to make the grim discovery, which was clearly visible from the platform.

"It is disgusting. It stinks, said Mr Johnson, of Low Mill Lane, Addingham. "They are spending all this money on stations and putting up posters about the future of rail travel and we are back to a primitive age."

It is thought that the mess was left at the station after somebody flushed the toilet on board a train. Mr Johnson said he feared the trail of human excrement at the end of Leeds-bound platform two, could be a health risk to the many passengers using the station.

He said: "It has been there for weeks. You can see by the toilet paper that is with it. It is all corroded.

"If tourists came what would they think? There is a restaurant not far away. I understand that somebody reported it to Ilkley Town Hall but they don't seem to want to bother."

He said Railtrack had no excuse for the mess as there had also been cardboard, tins and rubbish at the end of the platform all summer.

Andy Tarbett, assistant manager, of the Condotti Restaurant, based at Station Plaza, said: "First and foremost it is absolutely disgusting from an aesthetic point of view.

"From our point of view, being a restaurant, people are coming to us for a dining experience. If they arrive by train they are not going to get a very good impression. They could think we are in some way connected to the railway or that our cleaning methods are in some way similar.

"I would like to state that we are in no way connected to Railtrack. They should get into gear and get this sorted out."

Derrick Joanes, secretary of Wharfedale Rail Users' Group, said: "There are signs asking people not to use the toilet when the train is in the station. People should follow those instructions."

John Blanchfield, Bradford Council environmental health manager, said: "It is offensive but it does not pose a risk to the public. We will contact Railtrack to ask if they can deal with it."

A spokeswoman for Railtrack said the mess would be cleaned as soon as possible but that contractors who carried out such work had limited fuel supplies as a result of the nationwide petrol blockades.

She said: "We are responsible for cleaning the station area in terms of the track. Ordinarily this would be cleaned up within 24 hours."